I-10 or I-20, which is better? (Baton Rouge, Lafayette: middle-class, construction, safe)

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by goonybird

Nope nope nope. <G>
If you do decide to take I-10 west, DO NOT take it to Lafayette. Too many crazy drivers, plus it's actually farther. Go through Baton Rouge, and when you get off the Baton Rouge Mississippi River Bridge, take Hwy 415 towards Lobdell. After "about" 5 miles or so, you will exit on Hwy 190, west. The exit will actually veer to the left. You will go through some small towns, and you will have to watch your speed, but it's shorter and nicer, and prettier. Plus, there is a place in Krotz Springs, Billy's, that has the BEST boudin balls and cracklins! Gotta try them! Hwy 190 will take you to I-49.

And as for speed traps, they really aren't, because if people would drive the speed limit they wouldn't get tickets. <G>

Krotz Springs and Port Barre you need to watch for (regarding speed traps). Livonia sometimes has the cop out, and I've never (oops, I jinxed it now ) seen a cop in Erwinville.

The thing about I-10 over the swamp, too, is that there are wrecks there that snarl traffic just enough to where you can't be 100% sure you can make it to Lafayette without incident.

[Chris19]

The thought of food makes me hungry, which is good. I like to try new things and after googling the boudin balls and cracklins, these two would definely be items of interest to try.

At this point, I am leaning towards taking I-10/I-12 to Baton Rouge and head up on US 61 to St. Francisville and would would like to see the plantation in that vicinity that is a state park and head up to Natchez or Vicksburg and stop on either one and head west on I-20.

I have nixed the idea of taking I-10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette due to being impractical. If I went west of BR, I would take the suggested 190 route. Issues with cops being sticklers on speed limits and speed traps is similar to some areas in South Dakota (a couple of towns near where I live) and I will have to be cautious in that regard.

The route north of Baton Rouge seems to make the most sense at this point, although I am curious about how the traffic is. If I took that option, would I be better off with taking I-12 to Airline Highway and up to I-110 that leads to US 61 or take I-12 to I-10 and then take I-110 up to US 61?

[MetroBTR]

Well, Airline Highway in Baton Rouge has alot of lights, and you will be stopped at lights in a few not so good parts of town, but you shouldn't have any problems. Depending on the time of day, it may be quicker/easier to get on I-110 directly from I-10 near downtown.

[Chris19]

If I go west to Baton Rouge, as opposed to heading NW of Gulfport to Jackson, I would arrive there around 10 AM (and would try to time it to avoid the morning rush hour).

[MetroBTR]

Hmmm, 10 AM you say. If there aren't any crazy accidents (a possibility) you should do alright going either Airline or I-110. If you aren't planning to make any stops, I would just go ahead and try for I-110. It may not be the most direct, but no stop lights, plus it gets you off of the ground in the seedier parts of town.

[darylwi]

If you're coming thru BTR, then take I-110. You'll get to see the city and the state capitol at least. I make it a point to basically drive through city CBDs just to do so.
If you're going up US 61, the drive should be fine. It's four lane most of the way. BTR to St. Francisville probably has the most traffic along the entire route, except for within Natchez itself.
In Natchez, you can get on the Trace and take that north to Port Gibson (MS-18) or on to Utica (MS-27) and then heading into Vicksburg. It's a fairly scenic route.
Non-stop the trip to Vicksburg from BTR takes about 3 hours (+/- 15 minutes). You could easily spend a few hours in Natchez and probably another 1-2 hours exploring areas along the Trace during the daytime.

[sharris117]

what is there to do between new orleans and BR

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by sharris117

what is there to do between new orleans and BR

Not much in between. Mostly swamps. Towards Baton Rouge in Ascension Parish there is the Tanger Outlet, which has alot of stores. There's also a Cabela's, which is like Bass Pro Shop. Venturing off of the interstate, you can find some plantation houses.

[Louisiana'sLegend2]

I-20 is nuthin but trees between cities and towns. The traffic is never ever bad though

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Not much in between. Mostly swamps. Towards Baton Rouge in Ascension Parish there is the Tanger Outlet, which has alot of stores. There's also a Cabela's, which is like Bass Pro Shop. Venturing off of the interstate, you can find some plantation houses.

Yeah, hit plantation row on the River Road. Otherwise, there really isn't a whole heck of a lot, minus Gonzales.
There is Middendorf's seafood restaurant in Manchac between NOLA and Hammond on I-55. Great food. Open Wed - Sun.